A Concert After Work. – Nylon MTV Benefit Concert

Back in the US, it’s odd to catch a big star performing on a weekday. In fact, most managers would nix that idea out of fear that people wouldn’t show up. In Korea, a weekday concert is not out of the ordinary. It’s Wednesday, I just finished flexing my English speaking skills at work, and I’m rushing out to another DT/Tasha performance.

Tonight’s concert is a benefit concert celebrating Nylon Magazine’s 1st year in Korea. MTV is partnered with them and the generous sponsorship form MagnMag.com makes the concert free for all it’s participants. A select few people won guaranteed tickets form Nylon & MTV’s website, so a separate line is formed outside for people waiting for those tickets (roughly 500+ people – WHOA what a line!)

A few Camp staff members and fans decide to wing it and just try to get a ticket from the first come first serve line. In a surprising twist, this line is not as bad as the reserved line, and we’re able to get decent seats.

While the calamity in the seated area is nice, it’s where I notice the difference from American DT fans and Korean DT fans. In America, we’re aggressive and we like getting riled up by the performers. We’re used to the pushing, shoving, and struggling to get a good seat/view. In Korea, fans are content with just sitting or standing where they’re seated. It lets everyone see a view, but when you’re that one person in the crowd standing, throwing their hands up, and trying to get as close to the stage as possible, you’re the odd one out. I actually got a warning from the bodyguards a few times for getting too riled up. I apologize, Korea, but when a performer is telling everyone to stand up, and go crazy, my American habits kick in. (소리를 많이 질려서 최송합니다! ^_^)

Anyway, what’s great about JK’s performances in Korea is they all go all out for each performer’s performance. The panning of JK’s photo and the words Drunken Tiger in the back creates a great effect and it always causes the crowd to scream madly. Back home, a DT performance is not as elaborate and the venue is usually smaller and more intimate (that has its advantages though, making the performance feel more raw — and US DT fans love a crazy raw DT performance!).

In a weird twist, JK actually starts the show and is shortly followed by Tasha. JK is considered a Korean hip-hop god here and Tasha, of course, its goddess. It’s rare they put a huge act first in any culture, but DT fans rejoice anyway (hey — if they finish their set early, that means we can go home early, and trying to get on that last subway train in Seoul is very important!).

Today’s set is very short (consisting of “Monster,” “True Romance,” “Pay Day,” and “검은 행복”) and doesn’t require much explanation. So I’ll simply let the photos tell the story.

(Dear Cellphone company, your customer is product placing in my photos. A donation to Camp would be greatly appreciated.)

After the performance, a few TigerBalm/DrunkenCamp staff rush out to catch a glimpse of the power hip-hop couple. It’s a regular for us to go to these shows and our faces are now familiar to DT’s team. We’re welcomed with the warmness that friends have between each other, but only for a brief moment. A lot of the big stars back home would do 1 show a day, but JK & Tasha are sped off afterwards to another show at a university miles and miles away from the venue. I guess there are no breaks here even for the biggest stars.

[many thanks to MTV for helping this report happen]

-Miss DrunkenCamp

P.S. I need more people who are Korea based who are willing to go to shows, take pictures, and/or write about them. Rolling with Camp has some great benefits (ask anyone on my team!). Email me at drunkencamp@gmail.com if you’re interested!